Contemporary African migration to the European Union is triggered by global interconnectedness, but at the same time it is opposed by the hard borders of the EU. As a consequence, Subsaharan African migrants often undertake fragmented and dangerous journeys to the North. This article approaches migrants' journeys as open and dynamic phenomena that evolve 'en route'. It takes different mobilities (of people, goods, information, etc.) as the starting point to investigate migration journeys. With this mobilities lens it analyzes in detail three trajectories of African migrants who are moving to the EU. Subsequently the author explores the role of the geographical concept of 'place' in the facilitation of these migration journeys, thereby taking into account places as geographical localities as well as migrants' places in their social networks. Finally, the author illustrates how mobilities, in turn, bring their 'sediments'. This means that they change and give meaning to places. This reciprocal way of relating mobilities to places helps us to go beyond both individualistic and structuralistic explanations of migration. Bibliogr., notes, sum. in English and French, tab. [Journal abstract, edited]